An Italian parish priest has caused uproar after burning a photograph of
Benedict XVI during a church service and likening him to the disgraced
captain of the Costa Concordia cruise ship captain.

Father Andrea Maggi shocked parishioners and was criticised by his local bishop after using a candle to set alight the image of the former pontiff, who last week became the first Pope to step down in nearly 600 years, in protest against his decision to resign the papacy.

The priest likened the Pope Emeritus's resignation to Captain Francesco Schettino's alleged abandoning of the Concordia after he steered it into Giglio, an island off the Italian coast a year ago.

"Am I sorry for having burned the photo of the Pope? No. He's behaved like Schettino, he abandoned his flock," said Father Maggi, 67, from the hilltop town of Castel Vittorio in the north-western coastal region of Liguria.

Father Maggi said Benedict should have acted as a "rock" to the Catholic Church and remained in office until death.

"If he didn't want the job, he shouldn't have accepted it eight years ago," he said. "He's hardly an ingénue or a novice. He created 90 cardinals – it's not like he didn't know what he was doing."